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104-10177-10239 | 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 |

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Wasntinston.D.C, 20505

ry

MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. John Warner.
. Chief, International Intelligence Division |

Office of Intelligence
Drug Enforcenent Administration

: ; ; . ATTENTION: Mr. Robert Goe

SUBJECT ‘: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA: .
REFERENCES ‘ : A. SEC-IGI-76-0048(z), 06 February 1976
B. SEC-IGI-76-0062(1), 20 Februat, 1976 .
AEE ENT HAS aay ¢. SEC-IGI-76-0665 (1), 25 February 1976 L
DEA ON / APR FY
Ow : 1. This Agency was requested by DEA to check the

backgrounds of five Cuban exiles who have come to the
attention of DEA either as potential informants or as
liaison contacts; According. to prelininary checks
conducted by DEA, there were indications that these. :
individuals had past records of "political and revolu- :
tionary intrigue." DEA, concerned that it may be the .
target of a provocation operation by anether govern-

ment, requested this Agency's assessment of the

situation. This memorandum contains the results.of a

check of ovr Headquarters records on these individuals,

followed by a Summary of our findings and conclusions. . \
The order of this respohse is keyed to Reference B: :

to this Agency in 1960 but according to. our Tecords he

THIS DOCUMENT Is NOT TO BE DiSSEMINATED ABROAD Ok
OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE RECEIVING AGENCY
WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINATOR ©

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EXEMPT FROM GENERAL DECLASSiFICATION SCHEDULE OF *

E.0. 11652, EXEMPTION CATEGORY: S (b) 2
DECLASSIFICAT. DATE IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE
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SUBJECIT: Cuban Exites Tevolved with Dra Pa

92

was at no time used operationally. Our files contain
no additional information on since 1960
except for a 1969 FBI report dealing with his involve-
Ment in a plan to assassinate Fidel Castro. (DEA
already has a copy of this report.) Although in-
formation obtained from a Report of Investigation
(ROI) by Alfredo Duncan (DEA/Caracas) dated 01
December 1975 indicates that WINENED is a U.S.
citizen, resides in Caracas and has contacts with
various GOV officials, we have no information in our
Headquarters files to substantiate this information.
In November 1975-the Caracas Regional Office (CRO)
Yequested traces from our field representative on
“Q VEZ, who was reportedly in contact with the CRO.
The following traces were forwarded to our represen-
tative in Caracas on 03 December 1975 for passage to
DEA: "Following data on {ilario Eloy ~ R
taken from his own undated handwritten bio summary
which apparently submitted to the anti-Castro Frente
Revolucionario Democratico (FRD) in Miami about 1960,
and from an FRD Personnel Forn.
j a 1

1952 (sic
; (of Havana?
tary to the President of Cong
Sic) until 1958. He came
Q immigrant in April 1

ta e was a second Ji
Xe AAS it highly unlikel
President of the Cu
nd

gress at age fourteér only a little less
likely that he was « ge twenty-one, as
dates given by J
Department of

othe U.S./
JIMENEZ

statement on his
indicated that JIMENEZ wa
e Revolutionary Insurrection
Cuban-style mafia which was
S an as under ‘the Fatr6n’
of anti-Batista political ftgureg> On 12 Decembe

quest from the CRO that JIN NEZ


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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 3.

3. Orlando GARCIA Vasquez. DPOB: 16 June 1927,
Havana, Cuba. GARCIA (at one time a naturalized U-;S.
citizen/18 May 1945 in South Carolina). became a
Venezuelan citizen ca 1962. GARCIA has a long history
as a political thug since pre-Batista days in Cuba.
He was a member of the Union Insurrectional Revo-
° lucionaria (UIR) in Cuba along with Fidel Castro and
: other persons who were involved im political assasi-
nations. He claims to have served with the U.S. 82nd
° Airborne Division from 1945-47 and to have returned
to Cuba thereafter to-attend the University of Havana
_ on the GI Bill. About mid-5S2 Subject left Cuba for
. Miami because of a scandal in Cuba over a crime al-
legedly committed by GARCIA. In 1953 he became a
bodyguard for Costa Rican President FIGUERES, who
introduced hin to Romulo BETANCOURT, who was then in
‘exile in Costa Raca. It is believed that GARCIA's
fast rise in the Venezuelan government is based on his
earlier service to Accion Democratica (AD) exiles in
Costa Rica, where he reportedly eliminated several
gunmen sent to kill BETANCOURT. When BETANCOURT
became president of Verezuela (1959-64), GARCIA was
appointed a division chief in the Directorate General
of Police (DIGEPOL), now the Directorate for the Services
of Intelligence and Preventicn (DISIP). GARCIA left
Venezuela for Miami an 1964 "for health reasons (ulcers)
and during this stay in Miami worked at the Venezuelan
Consulate. He returned to Venezuela in 1966 and re-
portedly held positions within the Venezuelan Ministry
of Interior (exact positions not known). In August
1269 GARCIA Was assigned as First Secretary to the
Venezyelan Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. He returned
to Venezuela sometime during'1970 or 1971 and was ;
assigned as Special Assessor (Advisor), Ministry of
Foreign Relations, where he was mainly concerned with
Venezuelan national border incidents and violations.
According to information dated July 1974, GARCIA was
appointed to head a special foreign intelligence
Service within the Ministry of Interior:

In November 1973 our representative in Caracas
Was queried oy DEA Caracas concerning a report which
Was prepared on 06 September 1973 in Miami by S.A./
Michael D. Brom, which accused GARCIA of being int

volved in narcatics trafficking

gone:

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co WwW. “him oyer the years? Although it is known
that GARCIA has associated with known traffickers, no
hard facts concerning his ¢cirect involvement in
narcotics have been uncovered. GARCIA has been
escribed over the years as a political thug, a
murderer, a con-man, a pathological liar, and a

- "bright, aggressive rogue who is ruthless when neces-

sary." GARCEA has apparently always sided with the

men in power and seems to have gained the confidence -
of many leaders in the countries around the Caribbean. -
A DEA ROI, dated 10 October 1974, written by S.A. Brom

at Miami reported that GARCIA was in the United States .

and wads in contact with Ricardo MORALES (sce paragraph ..
4). GARCIA made several trips to the U.S. on behalf

of the GOV during 1974-75. Your, Agency is referred

to the FBI for information concerning GARCIA's
activities in the U.S.

4 Rica RALTS a. YPOB: 4
1939, Havana, Cuba. ORALES took refuge in the

Brazilian _Em¥assy in Havana in Octo is]
‘ e United States as a Cuban refugee“
P N29 November 1960. He was a se xe

former G- yg t. Although MORALES was interest
this Agency ii’ sea. he was not used optrationally.
Information in indicated that M

ber of “Cuban ower," an anti-Cast terrorist
anization, whosé\pdlicy was t piauidate foreign
port for the Castro’ imé.

imé. “MORALES was arrested
14 February 1968 in Miami questioned regardin
leccnt bombing incidentd> Or 02 October 1972 DEA/
m

d 17 February 1976,/MORALES i eported to be a’

ve DEA informaxt-Since 25 February™

recently Ip#f the Mani area to ¢ b
vi

up an off al position with a sensi
cy (T 45’ Agency has no updaced info tion on / 4
bs

ALES to“sGbstantiate this information.) The Miami
rated MORALES as being an extremely re
g
A

2 Caracas t
tive GOV

suggested Caracas R/O use cauticn in utilret
s within the GO

“iS due to his present statu
(da
D

ROI

i registered MORALES ISR as a DEA informant.\
rding to a DEA cabléfrom Miami R/O to Caratas R/0,)

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wi a)

SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page $

in contacg with one Orlando GARCIA, who was in t
Miami area recruiting Cubans for use in a Venezuela
Special Forcés Unit. Your Agency is referred to the
-FBIZ for information concerning the activities of
hese individuals in the United States.

S. Justo LARAZO Alfonso. A check of our records
turned up one Justo Alfonso (no DPOB), a Cuban-exile,
who was active in anti- Castro organizations in the
late 1960's. Your Agency is referred to the FBI for
information on this individual.

6. Manuel De ARMAS. DPOB: 06 November 1947,
Havana, Cuba; naturalized U.S. citizen living in Miami.
On 17 October 1975 one Manuel De ARMAS contacted our
overt Domestic Contact Division (DCD) office in Miami
offering his services as a doubic agent. Following are
excerpts from two DCD Reports dated 20 October 1975 and
19 January 1976 based on debriefings of De ARMAS: While
in Cuba De ARMAS claimed to have been the neighbor of.
Raul BETANCOURT, the brother of the former Venezuelan
President Romulo BETANCCURT, and his two daughters.
Antonieta and Mariela, who was De ARMAS' girl friend.

De ARMAS' mother decided in 1962 that Subject should
Leave Cuba, which he did. In 1975, De ARMAS found out
that his two young cousins had been placed in an orphan-
age in Cuba. He made contact with Mariela BETANCOURT,
telling her that he was fed up with the U.S. system of
government in order to gain her attention on the matter
of taking his cousins out of Cuba. Mariela asked him

if he would be willing to work for the Cuban Government
and he replied he would if it would help the youngsters.
Mariela then told- De ARMAS to go to Caracas and meet -
with her sister Antonieta. De ARMAS went to Caracas on
02 October 1975 and met with Antonieta, but no proposals
were. made on the possibility of his working forthe ~~~ °
Cuban Government. On 17 October 1975 De ARMAS again
called Mariela and was told that he should return to
Venezuela to. hold more’ talks with Antonieta and “other
people." After talking with Mariela on 17 October 1975,
De ARMAS called our DCD/Miami Office because as a U.S.
citizen he claimed that he did not want to get involved
with the Cuban Government unless he had this Agericy's
approval. De ARMAS graciously offered his services as
a double agent. He called DCD/Miami on 20 October 1975

.

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ste oe

r a.
SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 6

and again on 07 January 1976 to resubmit his offer and
insisted on a #esponse. He was told that his offer
would be forwarded threugh the appropriate channels.
(Note: Our records show that there was no CIA interest
in De ARMAS, past or present.) On 13 January 1976 our
representative in Miami was told that the FBI Miami
office had been in contact with Subject and wished to
verify De ARMAS" clain that he was in contact with our
DCD Miami office. The FBI also asked whether this
Agency had any objection for further FBI contact with
Subject. on the "same basis they had previously." (Note:
The type or length of FBI contact with De ARMAS is not
known. Your office is referred to the FBI for additional

information.)

On 04 February 1976 DEA Caracas received a
DEA message (# 02406) which requested permission for
Miami CI Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS to travel to Caracas
for a one kilo heroin, buy from a Colombian whom De ARMAS
had previously met through a Maria A. BETANCOURT. Per-
mission was given and De ARMAS arrived in Caracas on 11
February 1976. No mention of drugs was made on this .
trip but according to De ARMAS he was taken to the Cuban
Embassy in Caracas on 12 February 1976, where he was
allgedly approached to work for the Cuban Government
in an intelligence capacity. De ARMAS reported these
events to DEA Caracas on 12.February 1976; he was ad-
vised to return to the U.S. Our representative in
Caracas was briefed on the De ARMAS case by SAIC Duncan
on 13 February 1976. omrwas very interested
in having De ARMAS return to Caracas for use asa

possible source on Cuban intelligence activities, Gnd)

on De ARMAS at that tine and on 20 February 1976 the
FBI representative in Miami reported the following in-
formation: "The FBI has been avoiding contact with

De ARMAS for the past couple of months since he was
assessed as a ‘mentally unbalanced fabricator’. De
ARMAS gave a press interview in Miami in early February
1976 in which he claimed an affiliation with virtually
every U.S. intelligence agency. He said that he had
worked for CIA and had attended a CIA training school.
The press interview has thus far not been published,
presumably because it is too far fetched. De ARMAS

SzRaET

aah

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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEa Pape 7

‘ ‘

received a bank loan of $1,500 in Miami and has‘defaulted
on some $800 of the amount. The final note on De ARMAS
is that he received a gencral discharge from the U.S.
Army with a notation that he had psychological and
behavioral problems." The gist of the aforementioned
FBI information has been passed to DEA Caracas. All
agencies concerned agree that contact with De ARMAS
should cease. De ARMAS again -contacted S.A. Duncan in
Caracas on 26 February 1976 and requested a meeting; he
said that the request was not drug related, but con-
cerned the “Cuban matter." S.A. Duncan advised De ARMAS.
that he was on his own and that DEA would not get in-
volved. As DEA Headquarters is aware, De ARMAS re-
portedly left for Mexico o/a 26 February 1976. We have
no subsequent reporting on his movements.

7. Three of the five aforementioned individuals |

are known to have had past connections: GARCIA Vazquez
and SUNENEZ=RGgIn wer e both former. members of the UIR
in Cuba at one time and“MORALES—Na Forméy=
was in contact with XGARCIA. in the
United States during 1974-75. Although there have been
allegations aimed at: nd GARCIA over the years
accusing them of being Cuban agents and/or of narcotics
involvement, these Claims have not been substantiated
and for the most part are based on circumstantial
evidence or guilt by association, watch happens
L ; een a
ormant Since 1971 and, in fete Gas Pa ted as ara

in =
Mextermely-reliable" source by the’Miami R/0; -a—-desir
on_his part_to continue this. refationship —
we feel, cannot be construed as part. of a provocation.
operation. A check of our records reflected no past
intelligence backgrounds for LAZARO Alfonso and De
ARMAS, . While there is a paucity of background infor-
mation in our files on Justo LAZARO, in our opinion he.
is attempting to extort moncy from the U.S. Government
based on a poorly conceived idea of his own. The De
ARMAS case appears to have been resolved satisfactorily
for all concerned. All Agencies concerned agree he is
unstable and contact should be either severed, or if.
unavoidable, it should be made with extreme caution.

+ tee ae

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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles lavelved with DEA Page &

&. Following'a review of all information on the
foregoing Subjects available at DEA Headquarters and
at this Agency's Headquarters, we are of the opinion
that there is no data or other evidence to suggest an
outside organization is attempting to manipulate these
individuals in an- operation aimed at discrediting the
U.S. Government and DEA. We believe there may be
collusion among the three Subjects located in Caracas,

probably to assist one another in‘nefarious schemes to

One degree or another; however, the information on
hand does not suggest their motivation would go beyond
personal, financial or influence objectives. . While one

cannot absolutely rule out the possibility, for example,
Cuban Service has run one or moire of the afore-

that ‘the

mentioned Subjects at DEA for the purpose of harrassing
the U.S. Government, there is no conciusive information
in our files to connect them with Cuban intelligence or
a Venezuelan entity whose interests are inimical to the

U.S.

hott tr

Letty

Special Assistant for Coordination of
Foreign Narcotics Information

DONC-00038/76

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fot co ap

SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 9

cord

DDO/OPS/NARCOG/{iLDavig/ms

Distribution:
Orig. 4 1 - Addressee
1 - NARCOG CHRONO
1 - IP/AX*

aFile-in 201-0067860.
. X 201-0285923
X 201-0286570 ,
Index: Justo LAZARO Alfonso, aka Justo Alfonso

’ Index; Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS

Coordination:

in draft) 17 March 1976
G

us draft) 17 March 1976

